Circuit Court of Appeals, which is a premier American appellate court, has rejected a bid by Meta Platforms, Alphabet's Google, ByteDance's TikTok, and Snap Inc. to block massive litigation against them. The appeals court noted that Section 230 operates as a defence to liability rather than conferring blanket immunity from being sued. Approximately 3,300 related cases have also been consolidated in California state court. The ruling comes amid a series of legal setbacks for social media companies over allegations concerning the impact of their platforms on young users. The latest ruling therefore does not determine whether Meta, TikTok, Google or Snap will ultimately be held liable for the alleged harms.